After their adventures on the high seas, Locke and Jean are brought back to earth with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins, the Bonds Magi.

It is a fallout that will pit both men against Locke's own long lost love. Sabetha is Locke's childhood sweetheart, the love of Locke's life and now it is time for them to meet again. Employed on different sides of a vicious dispute between factions of the Bonds, Sabetha has just one goal - to destroy Locke for ever.

The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success.

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Product description

Review

Lynch layers con and counter-con, twist and counter twist, two new cities and a huge cast of characters, all of it glued together by irresistible prose and fruity, insult-stuffed dialogue. Welcome back, Scott. You've been missed. (SFX)

Lynch has lost none of his flair or ambition. ...Republic [of thieves] has a romantic centre, upon which Lynch layers con and counter-con, twist and counter twist, two new cities and a huge cast of characters, all of it glued together by irresistible prose and fruity, insult-stuffed dialogue. Welcome back Scott. We've missed you. (Dean Evans SFX MAGAZINE)

Scott Lynch has upped his game in every sense, and any epic fantasy I read after this is going to have a damned difficult act to follow. (overtheeffingrainbow.blogspot.co.uk)

It is a well-written and overall thrilling book that will keep you engaged until late into the night. (theroamingbard.wordpress.com)

Locke Lamora is proving to be one of the most engaging and enigmatic characters in fantasy, reading his voice is pure delight. (SFFWorld.blogspot.co.uk)

Scott Lynch is undoubtedly a master of the modern fantasy genre. (Paul Holmes THEELOQUENTPAGE.CO.UK)

Everything fans of The Gentleman Bastards are waiting for, and a lot that they won't expect. (bookwormblues.net)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

He's back! The long-awaited return of the most exciting commercial fantasy writer of the 21st century.

Top customer reviews

In the third outing for Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen the bondsmages finally catch up with them, but not in a way Locke was expecting. Instead of instant death he finds that the immediate problem he was left with at the end of the second Gentlemen Bastards book is solved by none other than the mother of his old enemy The Falconer.

Much against their will, Locke and Jean are hired to fix an election in Karthain to the benefit of one faction of bondsmages. There are rules. They have funds, which they must spend or lose, and they are to stop at outright murder. All other dirty tricks are allowed.

There is a problem, however. There always is when Locke's around. The opposing faction has hired Sabetha, Locke's lost love, previously mentioned, but never met. Sabetha, like Locke and Jean, was brought up as a Gentleman Bastard by Father Chains. She has all of Locke and Jean's skills and a streak of utter ruthlessness. What's more she's not tongue tied and helpless in Locke's presence as he is in hers.

It's an interesting situation. While Sabetha gets the jump on them, initially, Locke is vividly reminded of their shared past and so we get two stories: the election and the rekindling of Locke and Sabetha's relationship, and the story of their childhood and the first flowering of shared passion.

And who wins the election in the end? You'll have to read the book to find out, but suffice it to say there's bound to be another book – which is good news.

Sadly, nowhere near as good as the first two. The characters are still ace, but the stakes are not high enough - it seems like a silly game, instead of true intrigue and life or death. None of the tricks seem twisted or well plotted enough to actually bring a good pay off, and the reasons for the romance not being back on fully is never truly drawn out. The flashbacks bring the real grit and fear of the hard knock life of being an orphan thief. The whole deadly trap is casually cast aside in the plot. And the deus ex machina of a group of all powerful sorcerers kills any sense of free will or trickery - we need Locke & Jean to be unexpected wily anti heroes again!

book 1 - epic, book 2 - brill, book 3 -LET DOWN , it does not seem to have been written with any love at all. plot is predictable,female character usless and insulting ,felt like it was a rush job to fufil contract agreements in short rubbish don't bother.the only reason I gave it a 3 is because of the first two.

I've never read a series like this. I didn't really understand from the previous two books how this was going to turn into a 7-book series. Having read this one - oh my, I know. The intrigue mixed with humour and darkness is a fantastic mix. I'm still super impatient for the next one though!

Fantastic third book. Each book takes Locke and Jean to a new adventure completely different from the last. The characters are further developed and the plot is, as expected, fast moving and exciting. Have recommended this series to everyone I know - looking forward to the fourth.

In this book, a lot of blanks are filled in from the past of Locke, and the character of Sabetha is finally introduced in the flesh. With all of this, the book is perhaps not as enjoyable as the earlier ones, because I think the tale in the present isn't as well fleshed out due to the lengthy back story interludes.

A good book in the series, but mostly for those already invested in the characters and wanting to learn more about them.